If there’s one thing Rafael Jodar can’t seem to escape, it’s the shoelace talk. Just last month, his lengthy shoelace fixes during matches drew attention and prompted on-court jibes. But this time at Flushing Meadows, there was no shoelace break. Even so, after his straight-set loss to World No. 124 Yunchaokete Bu, Jodar found himself facing some pointed questions.

During his post-match press conference, a reporter couldn’t resist bringing up Jodar’s now-famous shoelace breaks. But the question took an awkward turn when the 19-year-old was asked about the lengthy delays from his previous match.

To this, Jodar quipped, “What’s the question?” The moderator quickly stepped in, clarifying, “It had to do with delays during the matches.”

But things got a little more awkward when the reporter asked whether Jodar worried that fans might view his shoelace breaks as excuses for his losses. The 19-year-old didn’t seem convinced, simply replying, “Doesn’t make sense.” Sensing the tension, the moderator quickly stepped in again: “We can go to the next question.”

Ironically, this time, Jodar’s shoelaces had nothing to do with the delay. His first-round clash against Bu was pushed back by a day because of rain, with the Spaniard eventually bowing out after a string of unforced errors.

However, Rafael Jodar’s shoelaces have become a bit of a talking point lately. Repeated issues have forced stoppages during key matches, with the problem following him from Washington to Montreal and Cincinnati during the North American hard-court swing.

In Washington against Taylor Fritz, Jodar paused the play before the second set to change his shoelaces. Reports later linked similar stoppages with Corentin Moutet, Arthur Fils, and Brandon Nakashima in Montreal.

Each incident added attention, but Cincinnati was where the controversy around Jodar truly exploded.

Against Denis Shapovalov in Cincinnati, Jodar’s shoelaces broke twice during the deciding set. The first stoppage came while Shapovalov led 4-1, and Jodar took a timeout to change his footwear. Then, at 5-3 and 15-15, another broken lace stopped play during the 19-year-old’s service game.

The second interruption lasted around 4 minutes, while Jodar’s father helped provide another pair of shoes. Shapovalov protested, and his reaction quickly pushed the unusual problem into wider conversation.

The timing made the discussion louder because Rafa Jodar had been fighting back from that position. Some questioned whether these stoppages were helping him regain energy or break his opponent’s rhythm, because during that game with Shapovalov, he did drink water while changing his laces.

In his post-match interview in Cincinnati, the 19-year-old confessed, “Honestly, I can’t do anything about it. My laces broke, and I needed time to prepare a new pair,” he said in the post-match press conference. “I’ll try to have spare laces for the next match or other shoes, which will reduce the stoppage time if it happens again.”

And he did keep that promise when he came into the match against Alejandro Tabilo carrying several pairs of shoes in a transparent bag.

Then Jodar reached New York, where rain interrupted his first match against Yunchaokete Bu. His US Open debut was delayed one day after rain prevented their scheduled Tuesday meeting.

When they resumed Wednesday, rain halted play again with Bu leading 6-2, 6-1, 4-1. Play resumed after almost 2 hours, but Rafa Jodar still could not change things against Bu. He lost 6-2, 6-1, 6-1, but the topic of discussion was all about delays.

Rafa Jodar says that he was completely outplayed in his US Open clash

Other than this awkward exchange, there was one more moment during his post-game presser where he made it clear as to why he lost the game.

“No, no, it’s not fatigue. Physically, I’m fine. He played better than me, so he deserved to win today,” said Jodar after his loss.

The US Open ended abruptly for Rafael Jodar after ‘lucky loser’ Bu Yunchaokete handed him a heavy straight-set defeat. The Chinese defeated the 12th seed 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 in their delayed opening-round match. The contest was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but rain forced several matches across Flushing Meadows to be postponed.

Rafa Jodar and Bu eventually took the court on Wednesday, with the Spaniard struggling from the opening games.

Once play started, the 19-year-old never looked comfortable against Bu’s steady performance. Bu quickly took control and kept Jodar from building any real momentum during the match. By the end, Bu had dropped only 4 games, securing his first Grand Slam victory.

The one-sided scoreline also raised questions about whether Jodar was struggling physically during the match. However, the Spaniard quickly put those concerns to bed and said that he was as fit as it gets.

Rafa Jodar explained that he felt fine physically, while admitting Bu simply played better than him. He also said he needed to learn from the defeat because such matches can happen on any tour.

The stats also backed up Jodar’s honest assessment, with Bu clearly earning his historic win. Jodar made 37 unforced errors while producing only 15 winners during the 1-hour, 48-minute contest. He also failed to create a single break point against Bu, who earned just his third Top-20 victory.

For Bu, the result was even bigger because he entered the tournament as a lucky loser. And up next, Bu will be going up against Michael Zheng, a player of Chinese descent.